ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A new forecast projects lower than average w[auth] ater runoff from snow accumulation in New Mexico in 2013.

Forecasters with the federal Natural Resources Conservation Service say flow on the Rio Grande at a measuring point between Santa Fe and Los Alamos is projected to be just under half the average from 1981 to 2010.

In eastern New Mexico, the forecast calls for runoff of only 22 percent of the average at Santa Rosa Lake on the Pecos River.

The Albuquerque Journal (http://bit.ly/UJDd8q ) reports that the projections are based on the first three months of the typical snow accumulation over six months.

Snow accumulation from late fall through early spring provides runoff that feeds water into reservoirs that provide water for cities and farms over dry summer months.